Gigged with the Champ last night

[trag-o-caster]

With the replaced 10" 8 ohm Eminence speaker, and the 6L6 (Sovtek 5881) substituted for the 6V6. I put it up on a barstool and miked 'er up through the PA. The first thing that I noticed was that it was LOUD! Even without the mic, it was almost still too LOUD.

Last night was just an open mic night that I host every Tuesday. Usually I'm lucky enough to have a bassist and drummer show up to make a makeshift "band". Last night we had no drummers show up, so it was just me and the bassist, which is kinda cool too.

Well, there was no smoke, sparks, or flame pouring out of the back, and it sounded great, so I regard the experiment as a success.

I'm still reading all over the net that it's either completely safe to run the Champ like that, or that I'm a nut case and the amp is going to explode any second.

Amps always sound best when they're getting ready to explode anyways don't they???

[JerryPro]

Originally Posted by trag-o-caster

Amps always sound best when they're getting ready to explode anyways don't they???

Yep!

[eryque]

My old Pro Reverb has never sounded quite as good as it did before the original output transformer went. After much money invested in a new transformer, speakers, and having a pro go through it, it almost sounds as good as it once did.

[PraiseCaster]

Originally Posted by trag-o-caster

With the replaced 10" 8 ohm Eminence speaker..........

Hey there brother Trag!

Is that the Eminence Legend 105, 10" 8ohm speaker?

I ask, cause I'm gettin me one! One heck of a good joe, here at the TDPRI saw my thread asking about it, and he contacts me, and say's he's gonna ship one out too me! This place is so cool!

So, is it the Legend 105?

[trag-o-caster]

Hey Praise!

I actually don't know. It has no label on it whatsoever. It looked identical to the stock speakers that come in the Peavey Classics before they started calling them "Blue Marvel's", except those are usually 16 ohm. This one say's 8 ohms on it. I don't know if what I'm doing is safe, but I kept reading conflicting opinions about it, and decided to just do it. I'm glad that I did! :D

[Marky D.]

What kinda champ? BF, SF, Tweed? SS rectifier or tube?

Thanks!

[trag-o-caster]

It's a 68 SF Champ with a tube rectifier. Oh gosh! I never even looked to make sure that the right rectifier tube is in there!

Anyway, I bought it pre-mangled with a replacement 10" speaker. So far so good!

[Rob DiStefano]

Having done a coupla Champ 10" speaker retrofits, it can be kinda fun to anticipate the results. I was never that impressed, however. I've had oodles of Champs, but I'd NEVER experiment with my current '66 one, it's just too good as is! :P

[stantheman]

I've currently got two Champs and I love 'em...
HEY !!!!
Ya know what might be pretty darn cool ?????
A "Double Champ 2X8" Design; with a 2 6V6 Power Section....yowsa !!!
What a "Lil Screamer" THAT could be.....
I'd buy me one in a blink of an eye... maybe even as fast as I bought my '50s Mexican Classic 8) .
Basically a "Princeton" in a 2X8 Cab, talk about a ROAR...

[trag-o-caster]

Now who was talking about building a 4x8 cab for their Champ??? That sounds REAL interestin'!

I'm thinking about building or finding a larger cab for mine. It's way too cramped in there. Plus wouldn't a larger cab put out a little more bass? I'll mount the chassis in there too, and it'll be my "Mystery Amp" at the clubs. Maybe I'll get a "Teisco" nameplate and stick on there or something.

[trag-o-caster]

And also Stantheman -

Wouldn't be easier to just duct tape two Champs together and jumper from the second input of one to the input of another???

[Rob DiStefano]

My thinking about Champs runs in the opposite direction of the last posts - the inherent sonic beauty of a Champ lies in a perfect Class A marriage of a 5 watt all tube amp and a 4ohm 8" speaker.

I'm not saying that Champ mutations aren't aurally good, just that they're different. The cool thing about a Champ is that you can dime it at living room guitar/bass jams. YMMV.

[JerryPro]

What should I look for? Tweed, SF, BF? I know a little about Deluxe's but not Champs.

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally Posted by JerryPro

What should I look for? Tweed, SF, BF? I know a little about Deluxe's but not Champs.

ANY Champ will do, IMO - though I prefer non-Vibro Champs. It'll need a health check, maybe some new tubes, make sure it has a good speaker, twang on ....

[Kelsey]

use a Champ circuit and deliver similar sound through an 8" speaker, but cost a lot less than a tweed or brown-era Fender Champ. I've run mine through the Weber 10F150T in my Princeton, and while it sounds smoother and fuller than it does through the 8" speaker, it still doesn't deliver as much low end as the Princeton does through the 10" Weber. I don't think you'd find monstrous bass tones in a Champ through any speaker combination, but then again it IS a guitar amp :)
Besides making a great low to moderate volume amp for practice, jams, and small gigs, they are terrific recording amps.

[stantheman]

I heard a GA-5 @ Guitar Gallery some years back and dimed it sounded like all the great stuff The Who used to do. The thing really ROARED.

[PraiseCaster]

what does "dimed it" mean?

Sorry for my ignorance.

[PraiseCaster]

I just figured it out: Turn the volume knob too 10!

Boy am I slow, or what !